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column — Format `stdin` or a file into multiple columns. Columns are filled before rows; the default separato

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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linux

Problem

How to use the column command: Format stdin or a file into multiple columns. Columns are filled before rows; the default separator is a whitespace. More information: <https://manned.org/column>.

Solution

column — Format stdin or a file into multiple columns. Columns are filled before rows; the default separator is a whitespace. More information: <https://manned.org/column>.

Format the output of a command for a 30 characters wide display:

printf "header1 header2\nbar foo\n" | column {{[-c|--output-width]}} {{30}}

Split columns automatically and auto-align them in a tabular format:

printf "header1 header2\nbar foo\n" | column {{[-t|--table]}}

Specify the column delimiter character for the --table option (e.g. "," for CSV) (defaults to whitespace):

printf "header1,header2\nbar,foo\n" | column {{[-t|--table]}} {{[-s|--separator]}} {{,}}

Fill rows before filling columns:

printf "header1\nbar\nfoobar\n" | column {{[-c|--output-width]}} {{30}} {{[-x|--fillrows]}}

Code Snippets

Format the output of a command for a 30 characters wide display

printf "header1 header2\nbar foo\n" | column {{[-c|--output-width]}} {{30}}

Split columns automatically and auto-align them in a tabular format

printf "header1 header2\nbar foo\n" | column {{[-t|--table]}}

Specify the column delimiter character for the `--table` option (e.g. "," for CSV) (defaults to whitespace)

printf "header1,header2\nbar,foo\n" | column {{[-t|--table]}} {{[-s|--separator]}} {{,}}

Fill rows before filling columns

printf "header1\nbar\nfoobar\n" | column {{[-c|--output-width]}} {{30}} {{[-x|--fillrows]}}

Context

tldr-pages: linux/column

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